In our postmodern times irony rules, and every reading of the past is presumed to have some validity. To argue their interpretations historians resort to various techniques, including the selection, highlighting, and rearranging of texts and artifacts. By those criteria the passage of time can qualify as an interpreter of history, since it too has shuffled the stuff of the past into unexpected configurations. The passage of time is not just the subject of history; it has also, in its own mysterious way, provided “readings” and interpretations of the past. Nor are these memories to be dismissed as haphazard, and therefore meaningless for the historical enterprise. In fact, in some respects the passage of time has provided readings that are truly thought provoking in their unpredictable playfulness. While many modern historical narratives are burdened by their own theoretical jargon and ponderous seriousness, the passage of time seems to have a mischievous sense of humor.

The fate of the inscription at Hispellum is one example of the playfulness of time. The people of Hispellum had wanted their own imperial temple and festival. After Constantine's favorable response they constructed their temple, appointed their priests, celebrated their festival, and renamed their city. They also erected a permanent record of the emperor's rescript on a large stone slab over five feet high and almost two feet wide.